Review | Yves St.Laurent Faux Cils Mascara

I so, so wanted to love this mascara. It’s been recommended to me by so many people, who’ve said such wonderful things about it that I just had to try it. Here’s what happened…

How It Works: Well, it’s a mascara, innit? It works by making your eyelashes look darker, longer, lusher and lovelier. Or that’s the theory, anyway. This one in particular is supposed to mimic the "faux cils" (false eyelashes) look, creating big ole doll-like lashes. But does it work?

Packaging: Like Touche Eclat before it, Faux Ciels comes in YSL’s signature gold "tube". It’s a look that’s working for them, so let’s not knock it: and there’s no denying it feels satisfyingly expensive when you pcik it up. I like that. 8/10

Application: Here’s where Faux Ceils falls down. For me at least, the applicator brush was just way too chunky to be able to use effectively. Yes, it went on OK, and it didn’t clump at all (probably its biggest strength), but the brush was just too thick for me to get from roots to tip without smudging the mascara all over the eye area. Shame.

Performance: Well, it coated my eyelashes fine, and it certainly didn’t clump, but it didn’t leave me with the dolls-eye lashes I’d been hoping for, either. In fact, my eyelashes, which are fairly long anyway, just looked spiky after I’d used this, which really wasn’t the effect I was hoping for. In the interests of fairness, and because I wanted this to work so very badly, I tried it three times, both with my trusty eyelash curler and without. It all ended up the same, I’m afraid, with short, spiky lashes and a bit of a mess around the eye. Sorry, Faux Cils.